Thursday, December 23, 2010

Sweet and sour
A ninety-year-old French friend and excellent cook, who has a taste for luxury coupled with a penchant for being economical, gave me her wintry recipe for an apple and onion purée. It's uncomplicated and makes a tasty, inexpensive accompaniment for poultry, fowl or pork. Think of including it in your holiday menus when you have a crowd to serve and need extra side dishes ; it can be prepared a day or two in advance, stored in the refrigerator, then reheated.

So simple

Chop an equal quantity of yellow onions and peeled, cored red apples. (According to my frisky friend who has experimented with different sorts of apples and onions, it's best to stick with yellow onions and red apples to maintain balance.) Sauté onions until soft and translucent in one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan. Do not brown. Add apples, stir occasionally and cook, covered, over low heat until fondant or melting. Salt lightly according to taste. Mash either by hand or in a blender or food processor to make a smooth purée.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Googlisez-vous?
I hadn't ever really thought about it until I heard a young French woman the other day say "j'aigooglisé" (I googled), but it makes perfect sense that the "google" neologism would wind up being conjugated like any other French verb.

The French have as much fun saying the word as we do. Here it is in the present tense:

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Unless you're a grumpy person, it's sort of fun to happen onto one of the top first-generation Parisian street artist's paintings. Would you recognize works by any of these names : Jef Aérosol, Miss.Tic, Jérome Mesnager, Speedy Graphito, Mosco et Associés, and Nemo?